By Ceri Rundle
The North Wales Sheepdog Nursery Final was held on Saturday, 19th November in Llanfair Caereinion by kind permission of the Bebb family with the standard of running high at the top.
A clock-wise course was set with, IMHO, the cross drive gates set in the perfect position for the handlers to be able to ‘see’ perfectly. Running was on 4 lambs that were ‘split’ before penning and were consistently good throughout the 36 runs although they were not easy. They generally behaved well as long as the dog did not upset them although the odd ones did challenge the dogs at the turn and then would take off down towards the drive. The dogs that had good turns and were ‘smooth’ excelled and this proved to be the case with the top three runs.
The competition really ‘started’ when Aled Owen went to the post with his recent acquisition, Jim 374162 (Sire: Madoc Mot (C Pritchard) 358982 Dam: Glenys (A L Owen) 304490): Drawn at no.6, Jim made a good start – maybe slightly short on his ‘lift’ but quickly had the sheep under control and guided them to put up a classy run with just a loss of 12 points. Based on this performance, this is going to be a very successful and ‘dangerous’ partnership for the future!
Just 3 runs later, one of the hot favourites, Medwyn Evans with one of his two bitches, Eryri Nan 375662 (Sire: Gary (Serge van der Zweep) 308277 Dam: Eryri Dot (A Roberts) 345456) took up the challenge set by Aled’s run and put up an even ‘better’ run dropping just 7pts. Again, Medwyn has had much successful with both his young bitches which have run consistently well in trials this season.
In hot pursuit, running immediate after Medwyn was another ‘hot favourite’, Hefin Jones with his dog, Llanfarian Mirk NL/370217 ( Sire: Mac (Serge van der Zweep) 333520 Dam: Mia (Serge van der Zweep) 330785. This is another really ‘dangerous’ partnership that has gained much success throughout the season and gained a lot of attention so, as ‘expected’, they put up yet another great run on the 4 lambs that looked deceptively ‘good’ as a result of Hefin’s clever handling and Mirk’s ‘method’ of work. So who had won? Medwyn or Hefin? The runs were so close that unsurprisingly, it came down to the difference of just one point.
Huge congratulations go to Hefin who becomes this year’s North Wales Nursery Champion and Captain of the North Wales team of 15 dogs that will go to compete in the All Wales Nursery Final being staged in South Wales next month.
All in all, a really enjoyable day was held by all.
We’re delighted to say that all three winners feed CSJ CP30. Aled Owen also feeds Champ!
Good luck to everyone – keep training!
See the full list of the North Wales Nursery Team members: N.W.S.D.S. 2019/2022 – North Wales Sheep Dog Society
We’re proud to say that all team members of both teams will wear a CSJ gilet in the All Wales Nursery Final 2021.
